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Ph. D.

IIT Gandhinagar is looking for bright and dedicated young scholars interested in research to join us as Ph.D. scholars. Currently, we offer Ph.D. programmes in Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Cognitive Science, Computer Science and Engineering, Earth Sciences, Electrical Engineering, History, Language & Literature, Materials Science and Engineering, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Social Epidemiology and Sociology. Prospective students satisfying the eligibility criteria are encouraged to acquaint themselves with the research areas of our faculty members for suitable match of interest. IIT Gandhinagar also offers a Start Early Ph.D. Fellowship with additional financial support for exceptionally qualified undergraduate students from select colleges wishing to start on a direct Ph.D. programme after B.Tech.

For discipline wise minimum eligibility criteria, please click here. The disciplines may use higher cut off levels for short listing besides giving due consideration to the way questions are answered in the application form. Candidates belonging to SC/ST/PD categories would be eligible for relaxations, as per norms, in the selection criteria.

Credits Requirement

IIT Gandhinagar strongly believes in value addition through course work. There is a significant component of course work a PhD student needs to do depending on his/her background. PhD students entering the programme will have to take total credits ranging from 88 through 120, out of which coursework credits (courses worth 4 credits each in general) can range anywhere between 32 through 64 credits, depending upon the previous degree attained by the student. Out of the minimum credits through coursework, a minimum of 12 credits are required to be completed through 3 credit project-based courses.

Qualifying Degree

Minimum Credits through Coursework

Minimum Credits through Research

Total Minimum Credits for Graduation

Minimum Duration

Maximum Duration

Expected Duration

B.Tech., BE or equivalent 4-year bachelor’s degree

64

52

120

3 years

7 years

4 years

MSc, MA or equivalent 5-year Master's degree

44

52

100

3 years

7 years

4 years

M.Tech., M.E, Two Years' M.PH. or M.Phil.

32

52

88

2 years

6 years

3 years

Residential Requirement

Ph.D. programme is fully residential. The regular candidates will have to stay on campus. For candidates under Continuing Doctoral Programme, currently 2 years of residency requirement after completion of 1 year of advanced admission is followed.

Admission Categories

Regular(RR): Fulltime residential research candidate.

Continuing Doctoral Programme (CDP): This if for the candidates working in industry or as a faculty in any educational institution. In this category the candidate is given advance admission with 90 days of residency requirement in 1st year and on successful completion of 1st year, the admission is confirmed with the expected minimum 2 years of full time residential requirement on campus for completing course work and a major part of thesis work. After 2-years, the candidate may be permitted to go back to parent organization subject to significant progress in thesis work. Subsequently, the candidate is expected to complete at least 2 weeks of residency at the Institute for each semester all through the PhD programme. A certificate in support of the candidature must support the application. Click here for more details about the programme.

Financial Support

Students joining the Ph.D. program as regulars (RR) will be considered for Institute Fellowship based on the following norms:

Post Graduate Degree in Basic Science with NET/GATE Qualification or Graduate Degree in Professional Courses (B.Tech/B.E.) with NET/GATE Qualification or Post Graduate Degree in Professional Courses (M.Tech/M.E. etc) : Rs. 25,000/- per month.

Qualifications mention at (i) above with two years of Research Experience: Rs. 28,000/- per month.

Highlights

Full time PhD students are encouraged to present their research work at international conferences. Financial support of up to Rs. 2.00 Lakhs for the entire duration of the programme is available. Additional funding may also be provided.

A support of up to US$ 12,500 may be considered in deserving cases to do research work at the best Universities/Labs abroad for a period of 4 to 6 months.

Candidates who have obtained at least one of their previous degrees from a premier institution like IIT, IISc etc. can be considered for an additional fellowship of Rs. 10,000/- per month.

Over and above the monthly assistantship, an additional fellowship of Rs. 5,000/- per month may be provided to the candidates ranking within the top 5% in any relevant National level qualifying examination. A candidate can receive only one of the above mentioned two additional fellowships. Payment of assistantship is subject to a candidate complying with the prescribed norms/work output.

Know Our Students

IIT Gandhinagar has been quite successful in attracting some of the brightest minds in the country for our Ph.D. programmes. You can see the background of our existing Ph.D. students here.

Note: Category wise reservations on overall available seats will be followed as per Government of India norms.

Admission Procedure

Admission is generally offered on the basis of an interview, which is supplemented by a written test if necessary. The Institute will invite a limited number of candidates for a written test and interview based on the academic records, statement of purpose, etc. The final selection will be mainly based on academic credentials, written test and/or interview.

The written test is generally based on the topics related to general aptitude (logical reasoning, analytical and numerical ability, etc.), writing skills, and basic courses of various disciplines at undergraduate level. The candidates who do not qualify in the written test need not appear for interview. The reserved category candidates will be given due relaxation in cutoff marks as per the norms.

The candidates called for the Test / Interview will be reimbursed any amount exceeding Rs.750/- for to and fro single second-sleeper class railway fare by the shortest route from their place of residence to the Institute /venue of the Test / Interview. For example, in case of total railway fare of Rs.1400/- the candidate will be reimbursed Rs.650/-. It is required to produce evidence (railway ticket) in support of the claim.

In addition to the announced admission cycles with prescribed deadline of application, the Institute also considers applications any time of the year in case of exceptional candidates. Based on the qualifications of the candidates and the need of the discipline concerned, applications received are processed through duly constituted selection committees at regular intervals.

Application Procedure

All applications must be submitted online. If you are applying for more than one discipline, please submit a separate application for each discipline. After successful submission of the application form, you will receive an application number and a link to download the application form. Please save the application form. You need to furnish hardcopy of the application form and self attested copies of all the relevant documents at the time of interview. Incomplete applications will be rejected

Application Fees: Rs. 100/- (SC/ST/PD Category), Rs. 200/- (Others)

You NEED NOT send the hard-copy of the application form.

Important Dates

PhD admission: Phase 1

Dates of Written test/ Interview

Date and Day

Discipline

15 March, Friday

Cognitive Science

Earth Sciences

Materials Science and Engineering

Biological Engineering

Chemistry

16 March, Saturday

Electrical Engineering

Chemical Engineering

Civil Engineering

Humanities and Social Sciences

Mathematics

17 March, Sunday

Physics

Computer Science and Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

PhD admission: Phase 2

Application Deadline: 2 April (Tuesday)

Announcement of Shortlist: 12 April (Friday)

Written Tests and/or Interviews (tentative): 7-9 May (Tuesday to Thursday)